Volleyball Training Tutorial

Are you looking for a sport that requires a positive team relationship, builds good communication skills, increases upper body strength and delivers an unlawful amount of fun? This article will teach you the basics of how to play volleyball. At the end, you'll be ready to set, serve and spike!

Learn the basic stance. When you're not serving, it's common to take on a basic volleyball stance. Your feet should be placed slightly wider than your shoulders, your weight should be forward on your toes, and your knees bent. Make sure your arms are free and in front of you.

Practice your serve. A basic serve gets the ball over the net and into the other court to start the rally. This can be done anywhere behind the serve line. A serve that immediately scores a point (only touches the server's hands) is referred to as an "Ace."

"Bump" the ball. This is the most commonly used shot for returning a serve. Ideally, you would "pass" it to the setter on the team. The bump is the first in a 3-move play.

Practice setting. Typically, you will not set the ball on the return of serve. Instead, you will use the set to get the ball into the air so that another player can bump it or spike it.

Be ready to block. For the (three) players at the net, this is used to stop an attack, or spike. There are two types of blocks:

An offensive block aims to keep the ball on the opponent's side of the court. The timing must be exactly right to jump up, predict the trajectory of the ball, and slam it back onto the opponent's side. Ideally, it sends the ball straight to the floor.

A defensive, or soft, block is used just to stop the power behind the ball to make it easier to send back. The ball hits the blocker's palm, rolls along their fingertips (losing power) and is received by another player.

Dig. This is mainly a term for a dive -- a spectacular play where the player saves the ball right before it hits the ground. It involves a great level of reflex and agility.